A Mahwah hotel will pay $110,000 to settle a price-gouging lawsuit.Star-Ledger File Photo

MAHWAH — A township hotel will pay $110,000 to settle claims that it gouged prices after Hurricane Sandy, authorities said.

Comfort Suites Mahwah allegedly engaged in 473 instances of illegal price gouging after the storm, a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs said.

Tapah LLC, owner of the Route 17 hotel, will pay $17,449 in consumer restitution, $47,600 in civil penalties and $44,941 in reimbursement for the state's attorney fees and investigative costs, the state said. The business will pay an additional $35,000 if it violates the terms of the settlement within one year.

State law prohibits price increases of more than 10 percent than normal during declared states of emergency. Comfort Suites Mahwah allegedly charged more than $100 more than the allowed increase in some cases, according to the state lawsuit.

“This hotel allegedly violated New Jersey’s price gouging law nearly 500 times during the first 12 days of the Superstorm Sandy state of emergency, when desperate families had to flee their homes and seek new shelter,” Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said.

A representative from Choice Hotels, which owns the Comfort Suites brand, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The state filed 27 lawsuits against businesses accused of price gouging after Hurricane Sandy. Twenty-two have been settled for a total of more than $1 million.